The Night We Met

Chapter 29- Meeting the Parents (Oliver)

River has been going through my closet like a madwoman on a mission. She is destroying my closet, but she looks damn cute doing it, so I let her.

"Do you own any other colors rather than primary colors?"

"No." She groans "Whyyyyyyy?"

I shrug. What's there to say? "I'm practical."

"Fine, wear all black, if Brynn makes a comment about your clothes, I warned you." She signs and sinks onto the bed. I laugh and make my way towards her.

"Babe, it's going to be fine."

"Babe?"

"You called me your boyfriend, why can't I call you babe."

"You don't want to be my boyfriend?"

I roll my eyes. "Of course I do. Now help me clean up this mess." She kisses my forehead and says 'Nope, gotta get ready.'

"Dinner's not for three hours." I say checking my watch.

"Precisely, it takes long to look as good as I do."

"You only took like an hour this morning."

"I wasn't trying then."

"And you still looked beautiful."

"Saying things like that makes me want to jump your bones right now." I lean back on the bed and smile slowly while licking my lips. "I wouldn't mind."

"You don't play fair." She pouts and stomps out the room leaving me laughing.

River wasn't lying when  she said she needed three hours to get ready. I got dressed and ready in twenty minutes flat but two hours in she's just starting her makeup. I have no clue what the hell she's been doing for so long. She also won't let me check up on her saying that she want's to surprise me.

Surprise me she did. She walked out looking more beautiful than ever. She has a simple elegant white dress paired with nude heels and makeup. Her natural hair is slicked down into a low bun. If we weren't meeting her parents right now, all her hard work would've been ruined in a few minutes.

"So what do you think?" She asks twirling around. I walk up to her and kissing the hell outta her. I move away and say "You look fucking beautiful. How am I this lucky."

"No idea honestly. Now let's go before we're late."

"We're fucking the second we come back home. All night."

"Don't temp me, I might just cancel on my family."

River's parent's are already there when we arrive. I was hoping Joey would've already been there as a buffer but no such luck. I have no clue how to do this. I've had girlfriends but we've hardly made it to the 'meet the parents' stage, I just was never interested in being involved in their lives in that way. I have no clue what to do, say, and fuck I'm nervous.

River links her finger and mine and whisk me toward her parents. I'm trying not to let my nerves show, but when she squeezes my hand, I know she's giving me silent reassurance. The restaurant they chose is a bit formal and I feel a bit under dressed but when I spot her father, my nerves dwindle a little. He chose to go with grey trousers and a causal black shirt, paired with black shoes. It does however go in contrast with her mother's full white pantsuit and shoes. 

My confusion must've shown on my face because the second we arrive to their table, I shake her father's hand and her mother rolls her eyes but says "I've long ago given up on telling him for these places." Her father grunts in response. I go to shake her mother's hand but she pulls me in for a hug, I'm taken a back so it takes me a second to respond. She whispers "I like you, but if you hurt her again, I'll have to kill you. Her father doesn't know so make sure this goes well." She says so flatly, I truly think she's serious. She pulls away and cups my cheek and has a loving smile on her face that makes me wonder if I just imagined what she said.

River and I go back around and sit down in our chairs. Once we sit down, her father takes a sip of water while everyone just looks at him expectantly. Even I'm holding my breath a little. I've never had the "protective dad shit" done on me, so I'm not sure how to go about this. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, River speaks up.

"Aren't you going to size him up for me?"

"No." He says flatly, so flat he sounds bored already of this conversation.

"No?" River and her mother say in unison.

"Yes, no. Your mother seems to like him, so that's good enough for me. I've done it a few times, and it didn't work with those other fuckers. If he hurts you, I'll break him."

"That's it?" River asks cautiously.

"Yes, can someone text Brynn and her boyfriend to come I'm starving."

"You know she likes to be fashionable late." Her mother quips.

"Wonder who she got that from." Her father grumbles, which leads to him getting kicked under the table.

After the lack of threats I was expecting, I relax a bit. We all fall into comfortable conversation. River tells them how her classes are going and how she's looking to start working as an editor for a publishing house to gain contacts so that when she starts writing, she already has a leg up in the world. I tell them about my plans for law school and strike up a conversation with her father about Hockey. Surprisingly, he's a huge hockey fan and has agreed to come to my first game with River and her mother. We all fall into comfortable conversation, not once is their silence. It's nice to talk to parent's as chill as River's.

It's not until Brynn and Joey come practically running into the restaurant that I realize they aren't even there. Turns out I didn't even need a buffer. Their mother checks her watch and says "an hour late, better have a good excuse."

"Traffic?"

"Nope."

"Took to long getting ready?"

"No."

"Fine, we lost track of time."

"Doing what?" She inquires. By the way Brynn's smile turns mischievous, anyone can guess what they were doing. Not that I'd want to know what my friend and his girl are doing in their free time. They sit down and everyone greets the pair, completing our table.

Joey sits next to me and we strike up a conversation about our upcoming game before we head back into conversation with everyone else. Joey already met the parents, and they like him, but he did get the protective dad act, and he was upset I didn't. It was funny though, seeing as her father already accepted me, not sure if it was a good or bad thing.

Dinner was fun however. This family truly made me feel at home and I've never been so thankful that River Nixon is my fucking girlfriend.